GameStop: Respect the Ratings |
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GameStop has taken out a full-page advert in USA Today to emphasize its ongoing commitment to stop minors buying games that are deemed inappropriate for their age group. Clive Olivera, a spokesperson for GameStop, sat down with gaming news site Eurogamer and said the following:
We, GameStop, as well as other retailers, have already stepped up with ESRB to regulate ourselves. ...That's what this is all about. We wanted to bump it up and let the public know, especially consumers, that it is something we actually take quite seriously.
...One mature-rated game sold to a minor is one too many. It's our goal to provide as much education as we can, not only to our employees but to consumers in general.
The advert features a rather huge, slightly weird image of Steve Morgan, President of Gamestop corporation, above which is the "Respect the Ratings" slogan in bold print.
The campaign doesn't just stop with the print ad though, respecttheratings.com is also up and running. The goal here is to educate people and get them to care and be involved - instead of shouting at them, bullying them, exploiting and using them as a rallying point, and threatening them with lawsuits. We suggest that you check out the site yourselves. You can access it via our "read" link below. See if you can contribute anything.
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Comments [refresh]
Go ***** yourself Gamestop. The ESRB came out of nowhere and all of the sudden say they have all this authority to rate video games. ***** you. If the kid's paying for his own games, the choice is his. End of the story.
ok seriously, they have no where near as much control as they think because people are people. A while back i was at a gamestop buying GTA:LCS and they guy asked me if 18. I said no being honest and he got all upset saying i should have just said yes and made the flow of the place easier.
All this will do is convince people under 18 to pirate the games instead of buy them, assuming they don't just get someone to buy it for them.
I admire Gamestop for taking an extensive initiative to uphold the ratings system and inform parents and potential buyers for their children about what is suitable for their age maturity group. They're doing a good job of protecting customers' as well as their own butts.
Your point is right on.
Kids will just get older siblings or parents to buy them the games, thats what I do.
at least they put a barrier up, now stupid parents can't openly blame video games in general for their stupid kids, M games are like liquor now lol, videogames like gta too violent?? iunno how your boy got it, hes not supposed to have it, its your fault, not the game company's fault, why not sue beer companies for people killed in drunk driving accidents then, damn parents quit playing the blame game
kids who want to play m games, get your parents to buy them, if not just download them and burn it, parents should be responsible for kids stealing anyways
Honestly, I believe parents should just monitor what kids buy. The fact that its a rating system is alright with me, its just telling the consumer you SHOULD be 17+ to play the game, but now the ESRB is turning it into a restrictions system where you HAVE to be 17+ in order to play them. Another point is if your child is mentally unstable why does he/she have a gaming system in the first place? Shouldn't the parent be out treating the problem of their child's instability? And if you haven't noticed their only making a big deal about this for "M" rated games, what happened to the "T" rating? If anything just make people sign contracts stating that they take full responsibility for their actions and that god isn't playing PS2 and controlling people like in the SIMS.
it's not that they have to be 17+ to "play" them... it's that they have to be 17+ to "purchase" them.
After it's in the possession of the gamer, it's the person who purchased the game that's going to have to take responsibility for the consequences.
I made that exact same statement about signing the one-time contract and registering it into the system under the consumer's name/age/address/EDGE card membership/etc.
ESRB isn't a legal body and until they attain such status the ratings should be left as just a warning, not a goon squad enforcement tactic. I feel it needs to be there, yes, like with movies, but until the law backs up the ratings like they do with other forms of media this goes too far.
I think as of now and for some time Gamestop needs to work more on fairly pricing their new games at MSRP, not $5 over so they can charge that much for used. They also should start giving a price discount if you're forced to buy their 'open box' copy as that's not new despite their arguing. They should try giving more than a 10-20% credit on things, especially if they're going to charge just $3-5 under the new rate as it's disgraceful. And finally the chain needs to start coaching their drones to be respectful to the consumer and not demean them or force propaganda down their throats when trying to buy something at the counter if the rep thinks it's not the 'cool stuff' to have.
besides, I don't see anything wrong with kids playing whatever they want to play. Whether it's some kiddy pokemon game or the latest GTA title, I don't really give a care.
YOU ADMIRE GAMESTOP AND THE ESRB?! **** YOU!